Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze (from Fiddler on the Roof)

Living life as a member of the night watch has inverted many of the habits one might expect to develop while out at sea. After rolling out of bed before each shift at around 4:30 (pm), I head downstairs to eat breakfast (dinner). Depending on my mood, I have my choice of either toasting a bagel or serving myself some shrimp, steak, or mashed potatoes. As I cross paths with the day shift, they wish me a good morning (to which I respond good night) and update me on anything interesting that I missed while asleep. I have gotten into the habit of grabbing my coffee mug and heading outside to watch the sky transition between night and day (sunset) while I wake myself up for a long day (night) of doing science. When we are in transit rather than working on site, we usually go outside for a few hours to take in the view (the night sky) and begin searching for any celestial animals that might be hiding there (constellations). By the time our watch has ended and we are ready to head off to bed, I stay up just late enough to watch the sun reach the horizon again (sunrise) and then it’s off to bed until tomorrow (later today). All things considered, the sights and experiences on this cruise are unbeatable, even if they are scrambled a bit out of order.

By Cassidy Bell (Undergraduate student at Stony Brook University)